My 1st sportive

nik6158

Hi all, i've just entered my 1st sportive http://lsu-cycling.co.uk/sportive/enter-online/. Only doing the 100k but i have also entered the nottingham 100 mile ride in june is anyone else doing either of these and has anyone got any tips for training etc ?
cheers nik

Kieran_Burns

My first sportive was the Notts 100. It's very well organised and the feed stops are almost perfectly spaced. I did this on the back of a 3-4 day a week 12 mile each way commute and a few 100K rides chucked in.

I also had to cycle 5 miles from and to the car (parked in Ruddington) so all in all a long day on the saddle.

Lots of people go powering off at the start, but eventually you get into a group of like speeded types and the miles just go by. I hit my low spot at 85 miles when my feeding got messed up and I cramped but the last few miles are just great fun (hoping that they sort out the dirt trail section though)

Me and my mate were being applauded as we cycled down the embankment (that gives you a GREAT buzz) and the family / city riders were politely told to get out of our (the 100 milers!) way

It was the longest I'd done by a fair margin and really, it wasn't AS hard as I thought it would be. They laid on free energy drinks and gels (I came back with more than I took) but I would suggest having some of your own just in case.

I did kind of freak out when I realised we were crossing the A1 as this seemed so massively far away but when you hit the 48 mile circuit you know you are on the last leg and it gets much easier mentally - well that and the fact that you are passing all the family riders....

I'm doing it again this year and taking a mate who will be a sportive (+ 100 mile) virgin.

The only 'bad' bit is that sodding hill up to the A46.... oh that was horrible.

nik6158

I'm doing it with a couple of friends from work none of them have ever done a sportive before and 2 of us are doing the loughborough one as a warm up to see how far away we are training wise. I haven't seen the route for the nottingham ride yet as there is nothing on the website if you have any info on it could you please forward it to me?

Kieran_Burns

Unfortunately I can't find an electronic copy of the route map, but I have got the Endomondo track I took:

http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/71781927

don't laugh at the times

The bottom loop is the 48 mile circuit - you do most of that then turn North for the 102 mile circuit - coming back to the same point. That was the bit I struggled at when I did this last year. I was really feeling the miles by this point.

nik6158

thanks alot that'll be a great help.

Kieran_Burns

There seems that there might be 6 of us doing this now.

4 of the group are sportive virgins and one of which just starting road cycling after selling his MTB and getting a GORGEOUS titanium frame road bike.

I think that there may be drafting duties the whole way this time!